


Young Primarchs

by ivorytower



Category: Warhammer - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-14
Updated: 2014-03-14
Packaged: 2018-01-15 17:19:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1312975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivorytower/pseuds/ivorytower
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of stories told about the earliest days of the lives of the Primarchs. Not necessarily canon compliant, but shamelessly self-indulgent.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Young Primarchs

**Author's Note:**

> Selene tends to her flock. (Originally posted on tumblr)

  
The skies of Arcadium were only rarely clear. The clouds were a veil, protecting the world from the harsh, cruel gaze of the Sun God. It was only at night, under the benevolent, silvery gaze of the moon that the stars were visible, faint and distant, and people rejoiced to see them.

Since Mother Moon's daughter had been sent to them, the skies were clear quite often.

“Selene, don't forget your shawl!”

“I won't, Mother,” promised the Moon Child. Carefully, Selene Werner fitted on her brown leather boots, pulling them snugly over long brown trousers that were a few shades darker, and then straightened her forest green tunic. From the hook at the doorway to her parents' cottage, she fetched her shawl, good brown wool, soft under her touch, and precious because her mother had made it for her.

She draped the shawl around her shoulders, and left the cottage, and stepped out into the moonlight. Ocean-blue eyes peered up at the moon, and let the soft glow strengthen her, and shook back her long, silver hair.

_Good evening, Mother._

_Hello, Selene_ , replied the moon. _I have much to share with you tonight._

_I cannot wait_ , Selene replied, and began to walk towards the fields.

Once, long ago, the sheep tended to by the people who lived here had wandered without fences. They roamed far, and were difficult to catch, and harder still to defend from the wolves that wandered. Selene had been among the shepherds to chase the sheep. When she was very small, she had chased them into the arms of those who were older, stronger, and taller.

When she had grown a little more, which was much faster than how the other children that had been born in the same year she had been sent from the Moon to Arcadium, she had seen what the problem was.

_Fences_ , she had said. _Fences will keep the sheep safe and prevent them from wandering. If we make them large enough, they will scarcely notice that they are being penned in._

They had thought her wise, but it had been Mother Moon that had taught her this. Mother Moon taught her many, many things. She taught her the magic symbols – _letters_ , Mother Moon had told her, _numbers, and words_ – that allowed her to keep notes, to categorize. To record and learn.

When she had been quite young, there had been no fences at all. There had been no fine weaving and spinning, no neat cottages, no gatherings. Only families lived together.

_Some night_ , Selene promised, _all of the people of Arcadium will live together. They will look after one another, and the greatest of fences will keep out the cruelest of wolves._

Tonight, though, was the night that she was to take up a crook and do her part of making sure the sheep were safe. She would watch after the village's flock.

The sheep were in the furthest field tonight. They were rotated, herded gently between fields to keep them growing well. Another gift from Mother Moon through Selene's lips, though Selene had suggested the gates and the gentle clucking to the creatures.

It did not seem strange to Selene, usually, that only she could hear the Mother Moon's voice.

The sound and the scent struck Selene at once. Sheep were not very clean. They smelled of feces and of urine, of sweat and of dust. If their wool was not taken, they scratched against sharp things until they bled and left strips of wool everywhere. Selene wrinkled her noise delicately, but clucked to them nonetheless.

The sheep, being sheep, largely ignored her.

“Silly things,” Selene murmured, and found a rock to sit on that was not too dirty. Most shepherds brought something to entertain themselves with, some reeds, or a little pipe. Selene did not need such entertainments, for she had the Moon, and she had Selene.

_I have much to teach you_ , Mother Moon said, and Selene looked up, her eyes wide and bright. _But you will need to close your eyes and relax, as we've done before._

_What of the sheep, Mother?_ Selene asked, worry entering her voice. _If I do not watch them, something may happen. The wolves may come._

_The wolves will not come tonight, but they will come again, and soon_ , the moon replied. _You must be ready for that day. You must trust, my daughter, that the sheep will take care of themselves._

_But they are so very foolish_ , Selene said, frowning. _What if they wander?_

_No matter how foolish they may be_ , Mother Moon said, and Selene felt her eyes close, _none can stray so far that they cannot be guided back to the true path._

_I will remember,_ Selene promised her. _I will remember until I die._

~ End ~


End file.
